


Running on Empty

by AceR00k



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Interspecies Awkwardness, Interspecies Romance, Opposites Attract, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, mass effect andromeda post game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-02 19:45:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10951449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceR00k/pseuds/AceR00k
Summary: Humans were incredibly reckless for such a soft species, he thought to himself absentmindedly.Or maybe it's just her.Tiran Kandros searches desperately for something to give his life new purpose and ends up in the middle of a potential assassination, a possible coup, and a drunk and disorderly Sara Ryder - not in that order.





	1. Diagnosing the Threat

Tiran Kandros almost couldn't believe it, but he was sick and tired of artificial sunlight. He was sick and tired of glossy white tiling, of the polite voices of newscasters, of seeing the same people day in and day out. He couldn't avoid the truth any longer - Tiran Kandros was finally, finally sick and tired of the Nexus.

  
He had loved everything about the Nexus since he first saw it in the brochures, since he first heard Jien Garson's smooth voice telling him about what a paradise it was going to be, and since he first stepped out of cryo, feet like jelly, eyes turned up towards a fake sky, and he felt his body ease. _He was home,_ he had thought to himself quietly, unsure if what he felt was cryo-induced delirium.

Tiran Kandros was a turian who had never felt at home anywhere. There had always been a strange uneasiness to his life, a feeling of "something's not quite right". It had been a nagging suspicion that had turned into a fully fledged existential crisis which turned into him literally leaving the galaxy to find himself.

  
Turns out, he found himself becoming the Head of Security, piggybacking off the mutiny of the woman who held the title before him.

And yet, even as his career hit astronomical heights and he caught other turians looking at him like he was in charge, the same old suspicions began to dog him. He was still, for all intents and purposes, in the military (albeit, given more power than he had ever thought he'd attain on Palaven) and he found it ironic that he had escaped the Milky Way to run away from the familial expectations of military life and ended up in a position that would have made his old man proud. He had hated the way everybody had looked at him - like he was some boring turian stereotype, all military valor and inability to emote. He had hated military bureaucracy, the thousands of little details and the miles of red tape, the mundane lifestyle it had been.

He had heard Jien Garson speak, and could see himself escaping from everything that was holding him back. As she described her vision, he could see his childish dreams playing out; he heard excitement and wonder, and discovering worlds he'd never imagined.

And now here he was - being shuttled from meeting to meeting, listening to Addison drone on about resettlement figures and watching Kesh and Tann argue over the proper way of waste disposal for carrier shuttles.

There likely wasn't a turian on the Nexus who could sympathize with him - they would have found it ungrateful that he was complaining about a position he had basically fallen into, ass-first. He had cushy benefits - a beautiful apartment, extra rations, and most importantly authority over every single person on the station. He should be happy.

Why wasn't he happy?

Tiran blinked and he was back to the quiet hum of Operations, the sound of movement and activity around him intensifying as he approached his desk. He really needed an assistant, he thought to himself, looking over the schedule displaying on his holopad. His eyes were darting across the screen and scanning for ten free minutes - ten minutes to catch his breath, or use the bathroom, or eat - and he almost didn't notice the woman approaching his desk.

"Uh, Kandros?"

Sara Ryder was about the farthest thing from physically imposing, but her recent exploits had made her a high profile traveler on the Nexus, which is why her voice made Kandros start. He had tried to keep a track of traveling diplomats and dignitaries, but Ryder's name hadn't popped up on his visitor logs, nor had the Tempest been registered in the docking bay. "Ryder. What a surprise - did you dock your ship properly?"

"Uh, I don't think we lost her. She's sort of difficult to misplace."

The corners of Ryder's face twisted upwards. Humans were so obvious with emotions - they had taken training in academy to learn what each meant, to decode human intentions and how humans wore their hearts on their faces - and Ryder was certainly no exception.

"I meant," Kandros began patiently. "That you didn't register the Tempest in the docks. We keep an eye on these things."

"You keeping tabs on me, Kandros?" her voice was light and the smile was steadily widening.

His eyes widened for a moment. "Not you, in particular. Your whole crew. I mean, of course we do have to monitor you - being the pathfinder and all -"

"Monitor me? Buy me a drink first, Kandros."

"What does that have to do with anything - ah. I see. You're joking." His voice, which had been slightly alarmed, flattened as he realized she was pulling his leg. Human sensitivity training had also entailed learning their strange sense of humor, which some turians had taken to more than others.

"Kandros, I actually came here to talk to you about something. We wanted this to be a quick visit - I'm actually avoiding Tann, which is why we need all the cloak and dagger."

He hadn't recognized the expression, but he understood the gist. "You avoiding Tann because you don't want to hear one of his speeches, or are you in trouble?"

Her smile slipped as she looked at him, and he could almost hear her thoughts. _She's not sure if she can trust me,_ he thinks to himself. _She's debating whether or not she can tell me something._

"I don't know you very well, Kandros. But I can tell you care about the wellbeing of the people on this station - and you're one of the few people I can say that for, with complete confidence."

  
Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't that. His eyes drifted to his holopad, where he cancelled his first meeting. The Angaran councilor would have to wait - there was something he didn't like about the urgency in her voice, something that unsettled him in the worst way.

****

"How well did you know Sloane Kelly?"

His office was austere and extremely well kept - he liked to keep things organized and in their place. Ryder looked very much out of place - splaying herself out over the chair and kicking her feet up. Even more unsettling is her mention of the familiar name.

  
"I didn't know her half as well as I thought I did," he said slowly. "But I didn't hate her when I knew her. I thought she was capable."

"I felt the same way," Sara said softly. "I didn't like the way she ran Kadara - but I still feel guilty as hell when I think about - ah, nevermind."

There was something about the way she turned slightly from him after saying that that made Tiran realize whatever she was about to admit might potentially be illegal. "Ryder, you gonna tell me what this is about at any point today?"

"Right, sorry. Anyways, Sloane Kelly was a tyrant. No way around that - but she still commanded loyalty across Kadara, even if that loyalty was fear. I thought that with her gone, people would be happy - but I underestimated her ability to command loyalty, even from beyond the grave."

She was a tad bit overdramatic, he thought to himself. "You can't be loyal to a ghost. I see what you're trying to say here, Ryder, but I'm still not sure how this connects to the Nexus -"

"I suspect that there may be people on the Nexus sympathetic to Sloane who didn't join her initial exodus - people who may have known her second in command, Kaetus, who escaped from prison a month ago and plans on killing me."

Definitely overdramatic, he thought to himself. Reeling, he leans over his desk, disbelief evident in his voice. "Okay, so - you think that there will be an attempt on your life by a turian who was previously loyal to the deceased Sloane Kelly, and that this individual poses a threat to the Nexus because of their ties to people on the Nexus who may potentially be compromised?"

"Yes."

Tiran glanced at the case of brandy behind her. "Ryder, answer me carefully. Have you had anything to drink before seeing me?"

Frustrated, Ryder sighs and rolls her eyes. "I knew you wouldn't believe me. SAM, forward Tiran Kandros the communications we found on Kadara from the wrecked cruiser." Kandros couldn't hear SAM's response, but he felt his omnitool buzz and he opened up a massive text log.

"Kandros, those are logs we found on a busted omni-tool between an exile and Kaetus - there are people on Kadara who are...resistant to the recent political changes. I believe they may be exploiting contacts on the Nexus to skim ammunition and supplies, and may even be preparing for an attack on the station."

She paused to give him time to skim through the logs. There was clearly an attempt at masking identities, but the implications of some of the phrasings mentioned in the logs were troubling. There was detailed information on Nexus shipping drops and classified Initiative pass-codes. He could feel himself growing less skeptical and more concerned.

"The threat to my personal safety from Kaetus is laughable, so I'm not even going to ask you to worry about that - but I am asking you to look into some of the people you work with."

She was so cocky, he thought to himself. He'd be slightly worried if he knew there was somebody out to personally kill him, but she looked far from troubled about it. There was something slightly enviable in the way she carried herself, even if he acknowledged that it was brash and foolish to be so cavalier about a death threat.

"Sloane was the head of security - but I can't think of anyone under my command who would willingly risk their post for her, especially now. Listen, Ryder - I'll look into this, and I'll also assign you protection. I can't risk -"

Ryder laughed at the suggestion. "Hey, Kandros, I'm not staying here long enough to need protection. And besides, you're going to assign me a protection detail with one of the men we're not sure if we trust? Probably not the best idea."

His mandibles flared at the thought of anyone working with him, or anyone he saw on a daily basis working behind his back against him. "Then head straight back to the Tempest and get out of here, Ryder. I'll handle this."

"Don't worry about me, Kandros. I've been taking care of myself for a while. And besides," the smile was back on her face, in full force. "It's been months since I've had a chance to relax - I'm going to get a nice, stiff drink. Is Dutch working tonight?"

For such a soft species, humans seemed to be incredibly reckless. That was something evolution should have corrected for - or maybe it was just Sara Ryder who was missing the gene for self-preservation. She uncrossed her legs and stood up, sauntering towards the door.

"Ryder - what made you think you could trust me?"

He asked the question quickly, before she had a chance to run out the door. He was curious - after all, they hadn't been particularly close and he could have very well been a spy. She paused at the door and looked over her shoulder. "Because I knew I could trust you from the moment I met you, Kandros. You're one of those upright do-gooder types. I could feel it."

He wasn't sure if he liked that answer, and there was something about the way it was phrased that made him wonder if she was being slightly...too familiar? There was also another part of him that was intrigued by the thought. Before he could process the thought or think to reply, she continued, "Also, I had SAM analyze your vitals as we were speaking. He couldn't detect any signs of deception, which means either you're a better liar than anyone I've ever met, or you're exactly the guy I thought you were."

She winks and closes the door behind her, leaving him sputtering and flustered behind her.

****


	2. Understanding the Issue

On a space station, time feels like a whole new concept. There is no real day or night, no seasons or changing weather conditions. Of course, there is always a ticking universal clock, but everyone creates their own ways of keeping time and measuring their days - for Tiran Kandros, his day was measured by the second he got into his office to the minute he left, and not much else. He had little time for social calls and the few after-hours events he went to were often work based - wining and dining visiting diplomats, running charity drives for outpost supplies, that sort of thing.

Which is why he couldn't understand why he had a sudden desire to visit Vortex. It had been hours since Ryder had left his office but her words had been nagging him all day - he'd looked through profiles of the individuals working under him, searching for something that would have suggested treachery, but all he saw were familiar faces. Even worse, the longer he stayed in his office the more questions he had for Ryder. Why would Kaetus want to kill her, personally? What had she done to him or Sloane?

 _This is stupid,_ he thought to himself, getting up off his desk and walking towards the door. He had felt thoroughly unproductive - zoning out of meetings and forgetting to send out comms - like he had wasted the day away. He needed to talk to her, to figure out why she had a target on her back and to figure out the best way of sniffing out the traitor.

"Leaving early, boss?" Sajax was leaning against a panel by the Apex terminal on his way out. "What's the occasion?"

"It's not early," he responded flatly.

"True, but I don't think I've seen you outside your office in a while. Was beginning to think you didn't leave."

He paused for a moment. "Sajax, can you tag someone for me? I want to know if anyone puts in any calls relating to this person, or if their name pops up on our radar in any way. I want to be personally notified." If anyone was going to place an attempt on her life, or if she was involved in any kind of compromising situation, he wanted to make sure he knew about it as soon as possible.

"Uh, sure thing boss. Who do you want me to keep tabs on?"

"Sara Ryder, the human Pathfinder. Don't worry about it," he said, answering the question before she could ask. "But I need to make sure that if anyone puts in a call, I'm the first to know."

"No problem sir," Sajax said, and he ignored the curious look she gave him and headed towards the shuttles to Vortex. Tiran could only hope that Ryder was still there and not unconscious - she'd had a reputation for being an excessive drinker on her visits to the Nexus, and he'd heard stories of her going drink-for-drink with Kesh without dying. He doubted it, and made a mental note to ask her.

 _This is weird,_ he thought to himself. _I'm going to meet the human pathfinder at a bar, and I'm not even sure if she's there._ Why did he feel almost...nervous?

He must be getting ill. He sighed, making a mental note to stop by the shops near Vortex to see if there were any dextro immune boosters for sale.

****

Vortex was a place that was only familiar to Tiran because of how many times his people had been called in to deal with drunken patrons. He took a seat by the bar and Dutch spotted him immediately, a concerned look drifting over his face. "You? Here? I swear, there's nothing going on right now. Did someone file a complaint?"

"Relax, Dutch. Not here on duty."

Dutch turned his head a little, his face blank. "You're not here to bust me for something?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Nope. Not working right now."

"I see," Dutch began. "I didn't know you ever stopped working. Do you want something?"

"I'll have -"

"Two martinis, please."

Ryder pulled out the seat next to him, knocking into an asari who shot her a dirty look. Ryder turned towards the asari and smiled sweetly before shifting her attention back to him. "Hello, Kandros. I thought you'd never come."

"He can't have vodka or gin," Dutch said, sounding annoyed. "I'll just make something up and give it to you both."

"Sounds like a plan Dutch! Always an adventure, ordering at your bar."

"You mean my lab," he said darkly, walking away to mix the drinks.

Tiran waited till he was out of earshot to turn towards her. "Ryder, about what we were talking about earlier -"

"I thought you told Dutch you were off duty, Kandros. But if you insist - do you have any potential leads on your people?"

"Uh, no," he admitted, leaning over to see if Dutch was approaching before lowering his voice. "I haven't got anything as of yet - I think I need some more details."

"Details about what? I told you everything I know, Kandros." A hint of annoyance had crept into her voice, along with something else. From what he could understand of her face - she looked a little nervous.

"I want to know why he's after you, Ryder. Why would he want to kill you?"

She bit her lip and turned away from him a little. Definitely nervous, he thought to himself, slightly proud to get the human equivalent right. She reminded him of the human perps who averted their gaze every time they were faced with proof of their guilt...but what had she done?

Luckily for her, Dutch chose that moment to slam two drinks down in front of them. "Enjoy. I'm not sure what I'm calling these, but I won't bother if they're not good. Let me know if either of you experience any strange side-effects." 

With that, he turned and walked towards a salarian flagging him down on the opposite end of the bar. Tiran raised the glass and warily took a sip - he couldn't tell what kind of alcohol it was, but it was definitely strong.

"You know, if anyone's trying to kill me it's Dutch. Ever since he saw me drinking here with Kesh, he's given me some pretty foul shit to see how far my tolerance goes," her voice was back to being light and she was smiling widely. It was a pretty transparent attempt at dodging the question.

"Ryder -"

"Have you ever had a secret, Kandros?"

He sighs and his mandibles flare in frustration. "Ryder, please stop bullshitting me and shoot straight. I need to trust you - I don't have a SAM that can tell me when you're lying."

"Thank God for that," she says, sounding amused and taking a gulp of her drink. "I know you have no reason to trust me. I'm not asking you to. But the reason why he's after me - that's something I can't tell you, not yet. But you know I would never do anything to hurt the Nexus - you know that, don't you?"

There was something desperate in her voice, as though she was willing herself to believe it as much as him. He decided to let the Kaetus matter drop, for now, at least until he could lower her guard long enough to ask again. "Ryder, are you okay? How much have you been drinking?"

She snorted. "Not nearly enough to get me drunk, but just enough to relax. You should try it."

"Drinking?"

"No, relaxing." She smiled and took a sip of her drink, which was large and a violent shade of pink. "You look like a man who hasn't taken a vacation in six hundred years." 

He'd heard some variation of that joke about a million times, and said exasperatedly, "I don't know why everyone is so concerned about how much I work. I get downtime, sometimes," he lied.

"Oh really?" she turned her whole body to face him and leaned an elbow against the bar. He could almost hear the laughter in her voice - it was not entirely unpleasing, he thought to himself. "And what does Tiran Kandros do for fun on the Nexus, then?"

"Uh, I -" he wracked his mind and came up with something. "Well, I come here, of course."

"Oh really? Would Dutch back you up on that? Because I don't believe it for a second."

"Probably not," he admitted, and almost against his will, he chuckled.

"Do you spend your down time hanging out with your girlfriend?" she asked him.

The question caught him off guard. "Girlfriend? What girlfriend?"

She threw her head back and laughed. "Good to know. So, Tiran Kandros," she exaggerated the pronunciation of his name and paused to take another sip. "We've established that you don't come to the bar, you don't have a girlfriend - you seem to be running out of fun places to hang out on the Nexus."

"Well - in all honesty - I do have this place I like to go to sometimes. When I'm stressed." He had no idea why he was telling her all this, but something in him (possibly the alcohol) was loosening his mandibles.

"What's that?" she asked, leaning forward.

"I like to head to the observatory deck in Ops - you know, the place where you can kind of see outside the station - and look out at the stars. I like to look for constellations, or just the Milky Way - reminds me why I came out here." Maybe it had been the atmosphere, or the fact that he had been steadily sipping at his drink since Dutch bought it over, but he felt himself easing up. _You didn't come here to socialize,_ a voice in the back of his mind says, and he straightens up and places his drink down. "Sorry," he began with a nervous laugh. "I just realized how...weird that sounds. I don't have time to leave ops, so I guess it's just a stupid thing I do in between meetings."

"Huh?" she said, inching her chair closer to him. "It's not weird at all. I like to star gaze on the Tempest too - dad used to tell me that my head has always been in space. When I'm sad or worried, I look out and remember how small we all really are, and it's almost comforting."

She's very close now - so close he can see every tiny hair clinging to her eyelids. He's just drunk enough to notice the curve of her waist, where her legs meet her hips, and how her hair frames her face. "You know, I wasn't always like this. A workaholic," he says, desperately trying to keep his mind from wandering. "I used to be fun. I used to go out with friends and have a life outside my job."

"Hard when you have real responsibilities, right? But trust me, Kandros," her voice was gentle, and Tiran wondered if her skin was as soft as it looked. "You can't be at your best and help everyone if you're not helping yourself. Besides," her smile had returned as she raised her voice a little. "You're not so uptight after a drink or two. I believe there's a sense of humor buried under all that turian bravado."

"Excuse you, Pathfinder. I'm very funny," he says, making a conscious effort not to slur the words. "You should hear some of the nicknames Kesh and I come up with for Tann if you think I have no sense of humor."

"Oh, she's told me alright," Ryder's fingers are absentmindedly tracing over a scratching on the bar's counter, but her eyes were fixed on him. "She told me you're quite the comedian when you want to be. I look forward to seeing more of it, Kandros."

Human sensitivity training had never mentioned the expression she was making now - she was smiling at him and tilting her head slightly, exposing her neck a little. Her lids were heavy but her gaze was focused on him. He'd have to look it up later, but it was making him feel nervous as hell. Spirits, he was not a teenager - he was the head of the Nexus militia, and he was speaking to the human Pathfinder. "I should probably go, Ryder. I have a lot of work to catch up with tomorrow, and it's already pretty late."

Her face fell for a moment before she composed herself. "Leaving so soon, Kandros? Here I was thinking I could get you to dance."

"Trust me Ryder," he said, taking a swig of the remainder of his drink and getting off the bar stool. "If anyone on the Nexus saw me dancing, they'd never be able to take me seriously again. I'd be out of a job."

"Now that, I have to see. Maybe next time Kandros," she turned back towards the bar. "Oh, and one more thing - I might have a potential lead on our little exile problem. It's just a hunch, but if it pans out I'll let you know."

"You're not planning on doing anything stupid, are you?" he asked, slightly exasperated.

"Me? Do something stupid? Never," she said, a wicked smile written across her face. "I'll catch you later, Kandros. It was nice seeing you outside the office."

As he left, he couldn't help but think that the feeling was mutual.

****

Later that night, from the confines of his apartment, Kandros sat on the edge of his bed and tried to remember the exact point at which his life had become so monotonous. The idea of a work-life balance was nearly synonymous with treason for most turians, and a military career was thought to be the cornerstone of a successful life. Even when he had been scouting for the Initiative, he'd always been on the job rather than trying to explore - he had always broken his life down into a series of assignments and tasks. _Maybe,_ he thought to himself. _Maybe you should take a  real day off. Read a book, go see a vid, spend some more time in Vortex..._

It had been nice. He had felt less like a machine and more like a living, breathing being sitting next to Ryder. He'd liked being around her - Sara Ryder was so quick to laugh, or smile, or crack a joke that it was hard not do the same. He knew he couldn't get too attached to her, what with her constantly traveling through Heleus, but maybe the next time she was on the Nexus, he might propose the idea of getting drinks - as colleagues, of course - that wouldn't be so bad, would it...?

Rapt in thought, he was startled by the buzzing of his omnitool. An incoming vidcall from Lieutenant Sajax flashed across his screen, and he answered it immediately.

"Sajax," he said. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, sir. Just wanted to let you know that there's been a disturbance in the apartments - the call came through the logs and I haven't assigned it yet. Some kind of drunken domestic dispute, potentially."

There was a moment of silence before Kandros continued. "So you're calling me in the middle of the night to what, tell me about a domestic dispute?"

"I thought you'd be interested because the call mentioned that the human Pathfinder is involved."

Kandros stood immediately, alarmed. He looked towards his armor, which was strewn out on his couch. "Is she okay?" he asked, reaching out to grab his chest plate. "Has she been hurt?"

"Uh, not at all. It actually looks like she might be the drunk. I believe the term the caller used was 'rampaging'."

He paused and remembered the sly look on Ryder's face when she'd told him she might have a lead. _Of course._

"Do not tell anyone, Sajax. Send me the location of the apartment and I'll handle it." His voice was tight with annoyance. As he was getting ready, he seemed to have forgotten all the kind words he'd reserved for Sara Ryder only a few moments before.

 _This human is going to be the death of me,_ he thought to himself, running out of his apartment towards the nearest shuttle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playing around with a more dialogue heavy chapter - let me know what you guys think!


	3. Crisis Management

Tiran Kandros had been in a few busts in his day, and he could tell when he walked into a room and its inhabitants had worked desperately to hide their actions. Whether it was drugs, alcohol, gambling, or whatever else, he was an expert in being able to tell nearly instantly when people in a room were trying to play it cool because they had something to hide. Still, he hadn't quite been expecting to see what he'd seen walking through the hallways of the apartment that Sara Ryder was "rampaging" through.

The complex was not located by the docks, but on the far side of the station. The hallway to get to the apartment was dingy and unkept, with trash strewn about and lights flickering on and off. It looked vastly different from the rest of the Nexus, which was so spotless and well kept that the while tile gleamed. _What the hell happened here?_

The door to the apartment in question - 209EEJP - was unlocked and open slightly. He heard the sound of loud music blaring from inside, and could hear what sounded like an argument. He rapped on the door and the voices fell silent as the doors opened before him.

He clocked two human females, three turians, and a salarian. The apartment was disheveled but he could see the tell-tale signs of some kind of quick coverup - empty cups on the table, but no bottles. He was willing to bet that if he walked into the bathroom he'd see a line of emptied-out liquor bottles, and if he checked one of the closets he'd likely find a garbage bag with more empties. He scanned the tables for any sign of red sand consumption, or other drug paraphernalia, and suspected that the odds were good that he'd find something on someone in the room.

He could also see the fear spreading across their faces as they recognized him. Nobody spoke for a moment, until he sighed and said, "Alright. I can tell something's been going on and someone gave security a call. Anyone want to talk to me, or am I gonna have to start breaking bones or crests?"

He meant the statement more as a joke than a threat, but one of the human females started crying. The silence intensified until one of the salarians hesitantly volunteered, "I'm sorry to waste your time, sir, but there's nothing going on here. Everyone's fine."

"Really? Then can you tell me why this place looks like it just got hit by the Scourge? Are you dispensing alcohol from this premises?"

The human female began wailing louder. Sounds about right, he thought to himself. Alcohol consumption was meant to be strictly tracked while on the Nexus - the Vortex was one of the only places where anyone could openly consume or buy alcohol. Individuals were only allowed to have small quantities of light alcohol in their homes, but anything highly concentrated could only be sold in the Vortex. A drunk working at the docks planetside was less dangerous than a drunk working in a potentially sensitive area of the ship - even minor issues in areas like hydroponics could very well ruin the entire station, which is why alcohol was heavily regulated.

Of course, this meant jack-shit to most people. Everyone had their own personal liquor stash (Kandros included) and the issue wasn't pressed unless people started dispensing alcohol to others, hosting parties, and being reckless. Then the militia had to be called in to shut things down, slapping heavy fines on anyone who might be earning some credits by operating makeshift bars in their apartments.

"Look," he said, trying to lower his voice to soothe their fears. "I'm not really here because I care about that. I'm here looking for the woman you put the call in for. I need to find her."

"She's not here. She left - after she gave Madeline a black eye," one of the turians said, pointing at the human female who wasn't crying. Madeline was a sour faced woman who was sporting what looked like a wound on the right side of her face.

"Okay - one of you is going to tell me what happened here, and before I lose my patience, because it's fading fast -"

"Kandros - sir - this is my place," one of the other turians spoke up. "I...occasionally use it to host guests and give out alcohol. We get a pretty wide variety of people, so I was thrilled when the pathfinder showed up, but she was...extremely intoxicated."

"Yes, that sounds like her," Kandros said impatiently. "Why would she punch your friend?"

"She's crazy, that's why," Madeline interjected, venom in her voice. "She came up in here asking people all these questions - like she knew us. She was making the customers - the guests feel uncomfortable, so I went up to her and told her to fuck off."

"I'm betting she didn't like that," Kandros said, sighing.

"Yeah, and she let me know that she'd leave whenever the hell she wanted to. So of course, I got in her face a bit - and the bitch literally punched me, just like that."

"She didn't pull out her gun, did she?" Kandros asked, slightly dreading the answer.

"What? No, she just punched Madeline and trash-talked a bit before leaving," the salarian said.

The woman who had been crying was now sniffling and said, "She told us our drinks were weak."

"Yeah, well, she should try finding quality booze in this godforsaken galaxy," Madeline said darkly.

Well, that could have been worse, he thought to himself. "What kinds of questions was she asking that you weren't comfortable with?"

The turian who owned the apartment shifted uncomfortably. "She was asking if any of us worked security, or had seen anyone working for you in our place before. She was asking about Kadara and Sloane Kelly - there were some pretty negative implications to some of the stuff she was saying. Nobody here partakes in illegal activity, or supports the exiles - we just...didn't like her tone."

What the hell had she been up to? The next time she had a lead, he'd be damned if he let her follow up without him - the woman had the subtlety of a krogan, and judging by the bruiser on Madeline's face, the temper of one to boot.

"None of you participate in illegal activity outside of selling alcohol, then?" Tiran said, carefully watching the expressions on their faces.

"Yes, sir. A few people in our hall do it as well - it's the only way we can earn credits right now. My wife is...not well. She has to limit her working hours, and her salary gets docked."

He was beginning to understand the dingy hallway, the lack of upkeep. The apartments by the docks were well kept, home to the scientists and engineers. These apartments were cheaper and stocked with those with less lucrative work, those who were more likely to find more creative (and illegal) ways of earning money.

"Alright," he said, feeling exhaustion seeping out from every part of him. "Well, I'm not interested in ruining your night over this. I just need to find out where the pathfinder went."

"No idea," the salarian said. "But she did mention being hungry."

****

Public intoxication was treated as a crime, depending on how rowdy you got. He had to find her before she caused a scene anywhere else on the Nexus, and especially before she got in a punching mood. Kandros wracked his mind thinking of where a drunk human would go for food, and the only place he could think of that was open at this hour was one of the shops by the docks.

"Have you seen a tiny human around? The pathfinder? She's got black hair and wears a black jacket," he explained to the man behind the counter. "Probably a little loud?"

"Yeah, she bought some snacks off me and took off about ten minutes ago," the man responded. "She tipped me for it, which I told her was unnecessary, but she said I saved her from starving. Seemed a bit crazy."

"Yes, that's her," Kandros said. "Which way did she go?"

He ran back towards Operations. He had a hunch about where she might be - he could only hope that he was right.

Operations was staffed and functional 24/7. The bright lights stayed on, but a skeleton crew operated her at designated "night time" hours, while the daytime crew took rest. It was around 4 AM, which meant that people would start shuffling in for their shifts soon, so he had to make sure she was out of there if she was visibly intoxicated.

Sure enough, he saw the figure of a small human clad in black leaning against the rail by the viewing deck of operations. The night crew was staring at her and whispering, but she was standing motionless and looking upwards. Even though he could only see the back of her head, he could tell that she was stargazing. He remembered their conversation earlier about his favorite place on the Nexus, and relief flooded over him.

"Sara?" he called out, forgetting to call her by her surname.

She whipped around, and a wide smile fell across her face. Before he could process what was happening, she was running towards him, colliding into him and throwing her arms around him. His hands flew up, surprised by the impact of her body against his, and he stood frozen, unable to react.

"Kandros," she said, her voice slightly muffled by his armor. "I - I'm very g - glad to see you."

Definitely drunk, he thought to himself. Some of the night screw was openly staring now, and he was acutely aware of the scrutiny. "Let's - let's get you somewhere you can sober up, yeah?" he said, pulling away from her. She was unsteady, and reached out for his arm; he put his hand around her shoulder and began walking with her.

"I'm - I am sober," she protested, slurring the words, with a look of indignation on her face.

"Yeah, if you're sober, then I'm an elcor," he said matter of factly.

"A very good-looking elcor, then," she said loudly. One of the workers nearby giggled and Kandros wondered how many more steps it would be till they got to his office. He could feel Sara lean more of her weight onto him.

"How did y - you find me?" she asked, looking up at him.

"I tracked you down," he lowered his voice. "We got a call about you punching someone."

"Did I? Was it a good punch?"

"You probably gave her a black eye, Ryder."

"E - excellent," she said, beaming with pride.

Despite himself, he laughed a little.

When they finally reached his office, he dropped her into the chair opposite of his desk and sat down at his chair, exhausted. She was looking at him in a strange way.

"What?" he asked her.

"You tracked me down. Why?" her face looked serious, as though she was deep in thought.

"Because you came to me today and told me your life might be in danger? The hell, Ryder? Of course I tracked you down."

She smirked. "I'm not s - scared. I've taken worse than him. But why do you care?"

"I care about the wellbeing of every person on this station -"

"Why did you get out of bed at 2 AM and spend hours searching for me? I'm the Pathfinder, not a civilian."

"I - it's my job, Ryder," he said. She was staring at him intently, and he was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable under her gaze.

"You hide behind that a lot, huh?" her voice was nearly a whisper. "That's fine. You wouldn't like me if y - you knew me."

"Why?" he asks her. "What are you saying? Are you talking about Sloane?"

Her silence confirmed that she was. She looked at him, anguish in her eyes, as though she was pleading him not ask her any more.

"Did you kill Sloane Kelly?" he asked her. He hadn't meant for his voice to be so loud, or so harsh, but he knew that if he didn't get an answer from her now, he never would.

She shook her head, her bottom lip trembling. "No," she whispered. "But I might as well have."

A short silence fell between them until Kandros broke it, his voice tense and his mandibles flared. "Sara - Ryder - you need to tell me what happened."

She took a deep breath of air and closed her eyes. When she opened them, there was no trace of tears, no tremor in her voice. She spoke clinically - still slurring her words a little, but she spoke very slowly.

"Sloane Kelly was running a drug ring and collecting protection money on Kadara. She was a problem - but she trusted me. Thought I had honor. Told me her second hand had been ambushed by a rival - the Collective - and badly injured. She wanted to settle matters with the head of the collective, someone named the Charlatan, in a cave on the outskirts of town. She asked me to come along to make sure he fought fair.

When we got there, I found out the Charlatan was a man I -" she paused for a moment and closed her eyes again, but only briefly, before continuing. "A man I trusted. They proposed a fair fight, winner take Kadara undisputed - only he was never planning on fighting fair. I saw the sniper he posted, and hesitated, and Sloane Kelly died because I chose not to save her."

The silence that followed her confession was long, and Kandros struggled to process everything she'd told him. Finally, he found the words. "Ryder," he said slowly. "You were right. You're not a civilian, you're the Pathfinder. That makes you more of a soldier than anything else. You made a judgment call, and someone died. But it doesn't sound like the murder of an innocent woman to me."

He thought that would make her feel better, but her face crumpled right then and her eyes welled over. _Such a peculiar species,_ he thought to himself as she sniffled and tilted her head back to prevent the flow of tears. Here was the human pathfinder - meant to be the beacon of her species, the representative of humanity, a hardened warrior capable of fighting off kett hordes - whimpering and crying, drunk, in his office in the wee hours of the morning. He could never imagine any turian, even the youngest recruits in academy, being so vulnerable so easily.

"This whole thing," she began, her voice wavering. "This whole thing with Kaetus - I see where he's coming from. I'd be pissed too. She trusted me, and I've never killed someone who's trusted me before."

Lost for words, Tiran stared at the corner of his desk, unable to meet her eyes. Part of him couldn't help but agree with her, that what she'd done was completely dishonorable and treacherous. He'd known Sloane, and she had been a hardass, but always a capable one. She'd been trouble, perhaps, but there was something sad about the fact that she'd died at the hands of some nameless sniper in a cave. It sounded like a lonely, almost pathetic death.

And yet there was another part of him that wondered if his ideas about turian respectability were slightly old-fashioned. "Ryder," he said cautiously, praying his words wouldn't trigger more tears. "At the end of the day, you did what you thought was right. Like any commander, you had to make a choice and I'm assuming you did what you thought was best for Kadara, and the Initiative. If that's true, then I can't fault you or charge you for your decisions - I can only work with you to make sure that nobody else gets hurt."

The ghost of a smile flickered across her face and she wiped away a stray tear. "Always the boy scout, huh, Kandros? I don't think you really believe that," her words were jagged, rough around the edges, and he could see her skin begin to flush. She was avoiding his eyes, staring determinedly into the wall behind him.

"I'm sorry," she continued. "This entire thing was so stupid. I just wanted to find out who his Nexus contact was, but I'm afraid I've messed it all up. And now I've embarrassed myself in front of the head of the militia."

She laughed nervously and Tiran sighed. "Yes, do you mind telling me what that whole thing in the apartments was about? Your lead?"

"Ah, right. Just a hunch SAM spotted for me," she leaned back against the chair and kicked her feet up. It seemed like she was sobering up rapidly, and he wondered if her SAM had something to do with that as well. "When we were looking through the logs we found on Kadara, SAM noticed a number that was mentioned a few times. 209EEJP - when we were on the Nexus yesterday, SAM mentioned that it could be referring to a specific apartment on the other side of the station. Figured it was worth a shot, but I - er - may have gotten a little too intoxicated to properly investigate."

"You think?" he said exasperatedly. "I don't think it's possible you could have done worse."

"Ouch," she yawned and stretched her arms overhead. "Maybe I need some help from a professional, then."

His mandibles twitched slightly. "Tomorrow, you're going to stop by my office first thing and we're going to go over those logs, in detail -"

"Sounds boring," she protested.

"We're going over the logs," he continued, raising his voice slightly. "And we're stopping by those apartments, where we'll see your lead's any good. And, until we can guarantee the safety of the Nexus, I'm putting my other duties on standby and you're grounded on station."

She snorted. "Excuse me?"

"If Kaetus is out there, I can't guarantee your safety anywhere else but the Nexus. I know you think you're invincible, but if he has a spy on the Nexus, he's a greater threat than you think he is."

"Maybe you've got time to mess around, Kandros, but I have a job to do -"

"The Initiative - and Meridian - will survive without you for a few days, Ryder. Let me assess the threat and send you on your way when I know it's safe," his voice was steady, and he was doing his best to convince her, even as he looked into her defiant eyes. "I know you can take care of yourself, but I can't risk the life of a Pathfinder without knowing I've done everything I could."

Something flickered across her face - an expression he couldn't quite place, but was gone in an instant, replaced by the a hard stare. "Do I have any say in the matter, Kandros, or is that your final judgment?"

"Sorry Ryder," he said grimly.

She stood up, her legs wobbly, and stumbled slightly before catching herself. He was out from behind his desk in a moment, standing next to her and reaching for her arm to hold her steady. She grabbed onto him as she composed herself, and for a moment, they were so close he caught his breath slightly. She looked up at him and her eyes widened before she stepped back. "Sorry, I've got jelly legs," she mumbled.

He tried to dismiss the strange churning in his belly. "Will you be okay?" he asks. "Do you need a place to stay for the night?"

It's almost an inappropriate question, and he knows it. "Ah, no. SAM's gotten most of the alcohol out of my system - I'll be fine," her voice is quiet and she bites her lip.

A silence falls over them as she heads for the door. She pauses once she reaches the threshold, and turns to give him a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

He gives her a small nod to affirm and she's out the door. The strange fluttering in his system has only grown stronger, and he briefly wonders what the hell has gotten into him before promptly passing out in his chair.


End file.
